Carnival Encounter shortens Cairns stay and adds Townsville call
The September 26 cruise from Brisbane will leave Cairns on the day it arrives because of expected channel and tidal conditions.
Carnival Encounter’s seven-night round-trip cruise departing Brisbane on September 26 has been revised, replacing a planned two-day stay in Cairns with a same-day departure.
Carnival said in a notice that current channel depths and forecast tidal levels were expected to affect the ship’s ability to depart Cairns safely at the originally scheduled time on September 30. The ship is now due in Cairns from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on September 29. Carnival also added a Townsville visit from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on September 30.
The ship’s Willis Island passage on October 1 was moved one hour earlier and is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Carnival previously changed Carnival Encounter’s September 8 Cairns visit after telling passengers that reduced channel depths made the route to Cairns Cruise Terminal too shallow for the ship to navigate safely. Carnival Splendor’s September 13 Cairns call was also changed because of reduced channel depths. It anchored at Yorkeys Knob and transported passengers ashore by water shuttle.
A notice said maintenance dredging would take place at the Port of Cairns and directed vessels to navigate cautiously because the dredge would have limited maneuverability. Carnival had not announced changes to Carnival Encounter’s scheduled October 28 Cairns visit as of publication.
